Pachuca

Pachuca (also known as Pachuca de Soto) is a city of almost 300,000 people (2020) in the state of Hidalgo, that draws visitors with its well-preserved historical center and mining heritage.

Understand

Historical center

The capital of Hidalgo State, its history is intrinsically entwined with mining since the Aztec days. After the conquista, the Spanish hired Cornish labor and innovation to help with further mining. But due to political instability and wild fluctuations in the price of precious metal values, Pachuca eventually diversified into other areas, including tourism.

The city occupies a small valley and is almost completely surrounded by large hills, which are also covered in colorful houses. The city centre has maintained most of its colonial-era structures, with narrow winding streets. Away from the centre is the modern part of Pachuca, with warehouses, factories, supermarkets and a large football stadium called El Huracán (The Hurricane).

In addition to its role as a regional center, Pachuca may be known to some as the site where much of Club of Crows, a Netflix series, was shot. It is also fortunate to be close to a mountainous natural getaway known as Parque Nacional El Chico.

Many of the descendants of the Cornish miners who immigrated here in the 19th century remain in Pachuca and nearby Real del Monte. Two heritages define the city: football and a dish called "pastes".

Get in

By plane

Pachuca is accessed by flights to Mexico City, Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX) has direct buses to Pachuca leaving every 30 minutes from Terminal 1; Santa Lucia Airport (NLU) is the closest major airport if you are driving. Depending on traffic conditions, it takes about 90 minutes to arrive at this town.

By carpooling

You can have a look on Blablacar for shared rides. From Mexico City it's around M$70 (Jan 2022) and from Puebla approx. M$130 (Jan 2022).

By bus

Pachuca is easy to reach by first class bus from several cities in the region, including from Mexico City's North station and Puebla's CAPU station (~2 hr, M$200). From the bus station, take a taxi or one of the combi minivans (M$7.5) to get to the old city center.

By car

Pachuca is about 90 km (56 miles) north of Mexico City. The road is flat with very few curves. Because it is a toll-highway, it's usually in good condition.

Get around

Pachuca is a good size city so you'll want to use the taxis or public transportation to get around. There is a local bus service operated by the city, but it doesn't go everywhere, so the most common way to get around is by combi (also called colectivo). Combis are small vans that drive along major roads, such as Blvrd. Felipe Angeles or Blvrd Marquez, and will pick up and drop off passengers anywhere along the route for a small fare (often M$10). Ask a local where the nearest combi route is and where it goes, or just look for a busy street and observe where the vans are stopping to pick up and drop off people. If you're not sure where the regular stops are, you can always just wave at an oncoming combi and the driver will stop (unless the van is already full, in which case he will pass you by). Combis have their destination (terminal point of their route) on a sign or painted on the front windshield.

Taxis are dependable and safe in Pachuca. Most hotels will call a radio taxi for you, if asked.

See

Reloj Monumental, Pachuca

• 1 Reloj Monumental de Pachuca (Monumental Clock Tower). A clock tower built in 1910 to commemorate the centennial of the independence of Mexico. It is situated in Plaza Independencia. (updated Oct 2020)

Jardin de Arte

• 2 Jardin de Arte, General Square, Calle Pedro Ma. Anaya 1, Centro. Urban sculpture garden provides a peaceful oasis next to the state capitol (Palacio de Gobierno Estatal). Lots of colorful murals. Tianguis are here on Saturday market days. (updated Oct 2024)
• 3 Parroquia de la Asuncion. Church from the 16th century with oil canvases from the same era inside, plus surrounding historical quarters around adjacent Plaza de la Constitucion. (updated Nov 2020)
• 4 Cristo Rey. Nice Jesus statue. Plus some fine views of the city if you walk around the terrace/stairwell. (updated Oct 2020)
• 5 Plaza Juárez. Main square (err, zocalo) of Pachuca with a Benito Juarez statue in the center and the state capital building and municipal theater fringing its borders. (updated Oct 2020)
• 6 Archivo Historico y Museo de Mineria, Asociación Civil, Javier Mina 110, ☏ +52 771 715 0976. 10ː00-18ː00 daily. History of mining in the area with mineral specimens and other mining exhibits like smelters and extractors on display. (updated Oct 2020)
• 7 El Cuartel del Arte (Art Barracks). A sampling of art. (updated Oct 2020)
• 8 SINAFO- Fototeca Nacional del INAH (Museo de la Fotografía). Photography museumː could be a little sleepy. (updated Oct 2020)
• 9 Parroquia de San Francisco. Colonial Catholic temple also from 16th century with the St. Francis of Asisi convent adjacent. (updated Oct 2020)
• 10 Interactive World Soccer Center/Pachuca Soccer Museum and Hall of Fame (Pachuca El Museo Del Futbol Salon De La Fama), ☏ +52 771 138 3040. Pachuca's soccer hall of fame and museum, for the soccer aficionado. Selfie-opportunity available in front of the gigantic soccer ball. (updated Oct 2020)
• 11 Pisal de Byron Gálvez (Parque David Ben Gurión). 08ː00-18ː00 daily. Outdoor plaza made up of pieced-together mosaics that you can walk upon. (updated Oct 2020)
• 12 Museo El Rehilete (Pinwheel Museum), Blvd Felipe Angeles km 84.5, ☏ +52 771 711 4722. More or less a children's museum but fairly interactive with a dino park, planetarium, and botanical garden. (updated Oct 2020)
• 13 Museo de Miniaturas Castillo de Dragones. Miniatures/toy museum inside a castle with dragons draped along the exteriors. Could be a bit kitschy. (updated Oct 2020)

• English Cemetery
• 14 Macromural of Pachuca (Mural de Palmitas), Guadalupe 204, Las Palmitas (behind Sam's Club). A whole neighborhood draped in pastel colors. If you feel like you're suddenly in an Easter egg land, you're probably in the right spot. (updated Nov 2020)

Do

• 1 Bioparque Convivencia Pachuca, Av Benito Juárez. 10ː00-17ː00 Tu-Su, closed M. Animal conservatory that is pretty dilapidated. Come here if you want to see a sad lion. (updated Nov 2020)
• 2 Tuzoofari, Camino Rural Rancho San Pablo (in Epazoyucan) (about 25 km southeast of Pachuca), ☏ +52 771 189 6600. 09ː00-17ː00 daily. A pretty dynamic safari experience with chances to feed the animals with supervision and tram car rides through the park, etc. (updated Nov 2020)
• 3 Estadio Hidalgo, 2da B Juárez 102, Los Jales, ☏ +52 686 231 6595. Catch a pro soccer game almost any time of the year since the local team Club de Fútbol Pachuca (often known locally as Los Tuzos) plays in Mexico's top football league, the Liga MX which has two annual seasons. The stadium opened in 1993 and seats 30,000 fans. Pachuca is the oldest team in Mexico, tracing its roots to 1901 when it was founded by miners who had emigrated from Cornwall in southern England. 

Buy

• 1 Mercado Primero de Mayo. 09ː00-19ː00 daily. This is the city's traditional main marketplace. A place to try local foods and look for local artisanal products. (updated Nov 2020)
• 2 Plaza Galerias Pachuca. Modern shopping mall with theater. (updated Oct 2020)

Eat

"Pastes". Derived from the Cornish pasty (but pronounced with a short "a" and "e",) this foodstuff is close to a baked empanada and was popularized by Cornish miners who took them as ready to eat treats for their lunch inside Hidalgo's silver mines. The original ones were filled with a mixture of leek, potatoes and ground meat, however the variety has now grown into a somewhat larger assortment. While there are literally hundreds of establishments selling pastes in Pachuca, "Kiko's" and "El Duque" are strongly recommended. Inquire about chile heat before tasting.

Budget

All these are in the city center:

• 1 Churromania, Calle Guadalupe Victoria 206. (updated Aug 2022)
• 2 Taquería Guerrero, Calle Vicente Guerrero 904. (updated Aug 2022)
• 3 Burguer la Fiesta S.A. de C.V., C. Belisario Domínguez 103. (updated Aug 2022)
• 4 Cocina Ade, C. Arizpe 307. (updated Aug 2022)
• 5 Pastes "Real de Plateros", Cl. Miguel Hidalgo 200. (updated Aug 2022)

Mid-range

• 6 Benji's México, Pl. Benito Juárez 116. (updated Aug 2022)
• 7 Holy Cheese!, Av Revolución 805. (updated Aug 2022)
• 8 El Canibal Pachuca, Calle Gral. Felipe Angeles 604. (updated Aug 2022)
• 9 Aldi Pizza, Av Revolución 1111. (updated Aug 2022)

Splurge

• 10 Sotero, Dr. Manuel del Corral 101. (updated Aug 2022)
• 11 Puerto Del Bife, Camino Real de la Plata, Lte. 15. (updated Aug 2022)

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Casa Alí - HOSTAL, Ingeniero Mineros 103, ☏ +52 771 747 0078. A friendly hostel option with breakfast. Also can arrange tours of nearby areas such as Parque Nacional Chico. M$487. (updated Oct 2020)

Mid-range

• 2 Privada 400 Casas & Suites, Dr Espinoza Arteaga 400, ☏ +52 771 713 7688. Kind of like staying in an apartment but without the lease. M$ 614. (updated Nov 2020)
• 3 Holiday Inn Express Pachuca, Blvd Luis Donaldo Colosio 220 Fracc, ☏ +52 771 273 0900. This is good if you want to stay in a concrete block franchise sort of place out in the suburbs that has a full breakfast and indoor pool. M$ 762. (updated Nov 2020)
• Hotel los Baños, Matamoros # 205 Colonia Centro. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. Cheap and nice looking colonial style hotel. For luxury, you're probably better off in one of the other options nearby; while the rooms are clean, many things don't work well (windows, locks, internet), but it does come with TV access. Renovated in 2015. For the breakfast you have to pay additional M$60, which it probably is not worth it. Better option is to take breakfast in one of the many nice places nearby. M$ 400 for a single room. 

Splurge

• 4 Hotel Emily, Calle Plaza de la Independencia, ☏ +52 771 715 0828. Here you can look out on the clock monument, and have a massage. M$ 847. (updated Oct 2020)

Go next

Mineral del Monte – 17 km

Parque Nacional (National Park) El Chico – 25 km. Not bad, monolithic escarpments rising up out of an alpine forest-type topography. Come prepared for some potentially cold weather while hiking though.

Mineral del Chico – 35 km. A pristine town that sort of functions as a service center or at least interesting respite before or after visiting Parque Nacional El Chico.

San Miguel Regla – 40 km

Santa Maria Regla – 40 km

Thermal baths, for example the Grutas Tolantongo – 120 km. Breathtaking hot springs. Featuring grottos, a water tunnel, river, bridge, waterfalls, pools and trekking. The admission is M$150 (Jan 2022), only payable in cash. The attractions in the park are open daily up to 20:00. You can also do camping there.

Xoxafi Caves – 50 km

Tolantongo Caves – 120 km

Prismas basalticos – 40 km